Category: cars

Chevy Runs Deep into Marketing Trouble

By Larry Teren

General Motors tolerance for being patient for the success of Chevy marketing campaigns does not run deep. Earlier this week, General Motors fired its chief marketing person, Joel Ewanick, for failing “to meet the expectations the company has of its employees.”

Mr. Ewanick a year or so ago came up with the advertising slogan “Chevy Runs Deep”. Apparently consumers did not catch on to its ambiguous meaning. This reminds me of the time many years ago when General Motors could not understand why the Chevy Nova was not selling in Mexico and other parts south of the border. That is, until it took for a Spanish speaking person to explain to a General Motors corporate honcho that nova, or “no va” in Spanish means “doesn’t come or go”. The Mexicans thought it was a joke to own a Chevy Nova, a car that doesn’t go. I’m guessing that today a lot of truck owners have an image of a truck not being able to get out of a muddy or snowy pile while the tires dig deeper into the mire.     Continue reading “Chevy Runs Deep into Marketing Trouble”

You Take The High Road, I’ll Take The No Road

There gets to a point in life when I say, “why bother?” Especially if it means traveling. I hate getting into the car and going onto the expressway, fighting to not be outmaneuvered by other drivers traveling 10 to 15 miles an hour over the speed limit. No, I’m not that old a fuddy-duddy who drives 10 miles an hour under the limit. I cheat, too, but not as much. Sometimes I get the feeling as if I’m in competition with a whole bunch of Mario Andretti’s.

My (precious) car is kept in an underground heated garage in the condo where I reside. To get to it, I either take an elevator down 4 floors or walk to one of the stairways and trek down the same 4 levels (and it beats walking up those same four flights, let me tell you). Then I get to the car, back out of my assigned stall, press the garage door opener and hope no one is flying down the entrance/exit ramp. Continue reading “You Take The High Road, I’ll Take The No Road”

Car Dust Memories

By Larry Teren

Recently, a Chicago area restauranteur tried to sell a car in an Ebay auction that was leased for a couple of years by President Obama. He set the starting bid for the gray-colored 2005 Chrysler 300C at a cool one million dollars. Naturally, nobody jumped at the chance. The same owner had once before tried to auction the car but quickly withdrew it when a joker offered one billion dollars. According to its blue book value, this 5.liter Hemi V8 engine model should fetch $14,500 to $17,000 if it is in very good condition. Continue reading “Car Dust Memories”

Class Action

September of 1960 I turned eight, ready for third grade. The previous autumn I made a fool out of myself the earliest that I could remember when I rushed home to our new apartment in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood a half block from school to proudly tell my mother that I saw a 1964 car. Ma told me that there was no way as it would be four more years before that year’s models would be introduced in the fall. “But”, I insisted, “Perry told me that we both saw a 1964 car pass by”. She then explained to stupid me that my buddy probably meant that the two of us had seen a 1960 Ford car.

Another dumb thing I did that second grade school year was beat up a kid a year older than me during lunch recess. When we returned to class, a student representative from the third grade class was sent to my room to come take me for a dressing down by the ex-nun who taught the eight years old kids. She told me that it was wrong to hit other kids. I tried to reason with her that he started it and that he was a year older than me and should have been able to do a better job defending himself. She didn’t like my answer and had a look on her face that indicated that she couldn’t wait to get a hold of me the following year.
Continue reading “Class Action”